Indian Ocean Pit Stop

This morning at 7:30 AM Captain Jeremy came over the loud speakers to announce that we would be making an emergency stop at the Island of Diego Carlos (I think that was the name). This island is a top secret US military base in the Indian Ocean and we were given special permission to stop here due to emergency medical circumstances for a number of peopla aboard our ship. They would be emergency airlifted to Singapore where they have the best chance of medical treatment. We were told to not take pictures of the island and that a number of armed US Marines would be boarding the ship to do a security sweep. I rushed to get up and ready for class a little early so I could see what this top secret island looked like!!! As I stood on the starboard side, I looked out at the island and saw....nothing. Just an island with lots of scraggly bushes and some cell tower looking things. A white dome which looked like a planetarium was situated not too far from the beach. We were told in global studies that there is an airstrip on the island and that the size of the island accounts for more than 50% of the chain of islands we are currently passing. We were also told that there are Coconut Crabs on the island that can reach sizes up to 3 feet across and can open coconuts with their claws....ewww!

 

I was in class, but my friend Kerry said that she saw two small boats pull up to ours as we were floating out in the ocean (We didn't end up docking....most likely for security reasons). One of the boats had an American flag and the other had a British flag. A number of armed marines boarded the ship with HUGE guns in hand, thought to be AK-47's. They also had a German Shephard with them. Nurse Randy was seen throwing SAS tshirts to the Marines as a "thank you" present! 

 

Rumors say that two students and a crew member got off the ship with luggage. We're hoping we'll be able to meet back up with them when we are in Singapore in a few weeks.

 

I wonder if all voyages have this many medical stories to tell!? I sure hope not....it seems we've had too many!! It was quite an interesting announcement to wake up to and certainly made the entire ship very curious! You must have to be very flexible when you're the captain of a cruise ship, especially one full of college students!